4-2-3-1 with Zouma dropped while Hazard set to start: Best Chelsea lineup against Sunderland?

Standing 16th in the league table, Chelsea will welcome Sunderland on Saturday without the services of the Special One.

Mourinho was sacked on Thursday by the Chelsea board after a terrible season leaving Chelsea without a boss for the game on Saturday. Though Guus Hiddink has been selected as the interim manager, the Dutchman will not be a part of the proceedings when the Blues take on Sunderland. The decision to sack the Special One has left many players sad and distraught with Terry and Fabregas using social media to say thank you to their former boss.

Mourinho would most probably take a break from all the footballing action and get his mind together before taking on another challenge in the future because we all know the Portuguese and he will surely be the leading man at a new club!

Chelsea host Sunderland at home and need a win to save themselves from falling into the recesses of relegation. With no new injuries plaguing the team, the main players are likely to start against Sunderland. The Blues would surely aim to bank on the home advantage and add 3 points the bag. But its not going to be easy as there have been reports flowing in that fans are likely to shout out chants against the players and in support of the Special One. Whatever the case may be, with or without fan support, this is the time when the Blues have to start a turnaround process otherwise it might just be too late!

Chelsea have a huge task ahead of themselves as they would ideally love to close the gap on Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City if they want to end the season on respectable position.

The Predicted Team is:

Goalkeeper

The availability of Courtois means that Begovic is potentially out of a goalkeeping job until a new injury comes the Belgian’s way. Courtois has been good for Chelsea given the performance of the other players this season and no one can safe guard that goal than that tall lanky 23 year old.

Defence

Terry, Cahill, Ivanovic and Azpilecueta are likely to be the players who would try to block the Sunderland attack. As rightly pointed out by the Special One, it has not been a good season for Terry, Cahill and Ivanovic and the tight spot that Chelsea finds itself in today can be arguably owed to a defense debacle and a lack of good performance on the part of these Chelsea veterans. With Mou gone, these three have to lift up the team and they can only do so by setting an example for the players and playing their heart out. As for Azpilecueta he has been the best Chelsea player this season along with Willian and is probably the only redeemable part of that shady defence.

Defensive Midfield

Matic and Fabregas will be handling the defensive midfield. Matic has had an average season whereas the same cannot be said about Fabregas. After a terrific last year when Chelsea won the Premier League and Fabregas was one of the most instrumental player in that campaign, things have drastically changed for the Spaniard. An explainable turn in his form saw him being dropped from the first team by Mourinho and he also didn’t feature in the Champions League clash against Porto. But the loss against Leicester and a nonexistent defence makes Fabregas a favourite to join the ranks of his first team mates again.

Attacking Midfield

Oscar, Hazard and Wilian will be starting tomorrow most probably as a part of the attacking midfield. There is no doubt that Oscar and Willian will bring in their A game as they have done so far in this season and that is what will be expected from Hazard when he steps foot on the ground. Hazard hasn’t scored a single goal this season in the Premier League and for a turnaround Hazrad has to find his former self again.

Striker

Diego Costa will carry the baton in the front and would aim to find the back of the net for his team. Costa has to lessen the aggression and leave mocking his players and finally focus on his game because Chelsea needs the Spaniard to deliver his worth.

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